The present invention relates to a method for operating an air conditioning system for a transportation means and an air conditioning system for transportation means, in particular a motor vehicle.
With today's air conditioning systems in motor vehicles, an automatic setting of an air conditioning system component, which functions as a final controlling element, e.g., the fan or the air distribution slats, is automatically adjusted from a combination (e.g., in the form of addition) of partial settings which are derived from certain operating states. Operating states include not only ambient conditions such as sunlight, temperature (inside, outside), atmospheric humidity (inside, outside) or brightness, but also such other characteristics such as the amount of heat contained in the vehicle, calculated on the basis of models.
The automatic characteristic lines of known air conditioning systems are determined and coordinated by experts with the goal of satisfying the largest possible portion of users. In determining the automatic characteristic lines, the acoustics (e.g., due to the fan) and the speed with which the heating or cooling system is automatically regulated are also important in addition to subjective well-being in the climate. This so-called 80% adjustment achieved through the use of expert characteristic lines is not optimal for all users in all operating states. By manual intervention, the user can individually adjust the automatic settings in manual mode. In doing so, the user automatically deactivates the automatic mode. If the operating states happen to change (e.g., due to a change in weather or due to the driving time after a cold vehicle start), this individual setting, adjusted manually, can be very inappropriate, so the user would again be more satisfied with the automatic setting. However, the automatic setting has the problem described previously not being individually adjusted to user's perception of comfort (80% adjustment). The user would thus have to make appropriate adjustments again through manual settings.
German Patent DE 44 26 732 A1 describes an air conditioning system having sensors for detecting parameters that represent or influence climate, memory means for storing automatic characteristic lines which describe the fixed relationships between the sensor signals detected and the manipulated variables assigned to them for components of the air conditioning system in automatic operation, and devices for manually adjusting and storing the manipulated variables. In this air conditioning system, individual operation according to the wishes of the specific user can be set by manual setting and storage of the manipulated variables and the ambient conditions defined by the ambient parameters. This individual operation may be superimposed on the fixedly predetermined automatic operation as needed and if appropriate ambient conditions prevail, this mode may be initiated automatically and turned off by manual changes by the user or by switching to fixed automatic operation.
German Patent DE 102 52 358 A1 describes an automotive air conditioning system for automatic control of a volume of circulating air to be blown into a vehicle compartment in which the automatic characteristic line of the blowing air quantity is corrected based on a manual operation. In doing so, the automatic characteristic line that is to be corrected is corrected with each manual intervention such that a portion of the characteristic line is modified by determining a new linearized linear segment of the characteristic line. However, this makes it possible to take into account the wishes of the user only to a limited extent.
The object of the present invention is to create an alternative air conditioning system and a method for controlling an air conditioning system so that individual user needs can be taken into account better.
According to this invention, any manual adjusting operation by the user is recorded during operation of an air conditioning system, preferably during automatic operation, and a learning value is determined by means of which at least one selected automatic characteristic line is modified (corrected) as a function of this change (deviation in the manually set manipulated variables from the assigned manipulated variables of the automatic mode prevailing at the time of the change—i.e., when the operating state values are the same). The learning value is determined by weighting the deviation of the manipulated variable between a control variable generated on the basis of the manual adjusting operation and the particular assigned manipulated variable of automatic operation with the same operating state values, and weighting each learning value over a range of several interpolation points with the help of a weighting function and correcting the automatic characteristic line to be corrected at each of the interpolation points with that part of the weighted learning value that is to be assigned to the particular interpolation point. The weighting function can be designed in the manner of a normal function so that learning is greatest at the active interpolation functions in each case and learning is always weaker or even nonexistent at the more supporting sites according to the distribution function. Other forms of a characteristic curve such as a triangular function having a rising and falling flank with a maximum value in between may also be employed.
The modification of the automatic characteristic line is preferably performed only after repeated manual changes during operation of the air conditioning system with at least almost the same operating state values (such as air temperature (inside; outside), atmospheric humidity (inside, outside), amount of sunlight, etc.). In this way, a plurality of pairs of manipulated variables will be determined over a lengthy operating time of the air conditioning system, optionally even over several trips with the air conditioning system in operation. The pairs of manipulated variables, comprising the manipulated variables set manually and the manipulated variables for automatic operation of the air conditioning system, can be assigned to the same operating state values and an average can be formed in each case.
To obtain as many modified manipulated variables as possible over the shortest possible period of time, they may be acquired during automatic operation and also during manual operation of the air conditioning system and may be used for a change in the automatic characteristic line(s). Using these empirical values (from acquisition and averaging of the manipulated variables) over a lengthy operating time of the air conditioning system, avoids excessively hasty learning with great fluctuations during automatic operation of the air conditioning system.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of characteristic lines is corrected for different operating states (such as amount of sunlight, atmospheric humidity, air temperature or the like). The automatic characteristic lines to be corrected for this purpose are selected in the order of the ranking list from a plurality of automatically characteristic lines stored and ranked in the manner of a ranking list of stored automatic characteristic lines with different priorities depending on the prevailing operating states. In one aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of automatic characteristic lines is or has been selected for correction, the learning value thus determined is divided among the number of selected characteristic lines according to a law of allocation—in particular imaged in the form of a characteristic line.
To retain the continuity of each automatic characteristic line to be corrected, the learning and/or correction are preferably performed at all the interpolation points of the respective characteristic line.
The transition from manual operation of the air conditioning system which occurs in the manual procedure to automatic operation of the air conditioning system can be continuous. Therefore, a delay element in the form of a counter or the like is started, for example, after conclusion of the manual intervention so that complete manual operation prevails at the start of counting, first developing into an intermediate mixed operation which then changes into completely automatic operation in a process that is continuous with the counting operation of the counter. The delay element for implementation of the continuous transition can be designed so that with manual activation of the automatic function, the continuous transition can be terminated at any point in time, allowing an intermediate switch to completely automatic operation.
In addition to the inventive method for operating an air conditioning system, the present invention also includes an air conditioning system as such. This inventive air conditioning system can be operated in both manual operation and automatic operation, whereby in automatic operation, any automatic characteristic line can be corrected based on a manual adjustment procedure. The air conditioning system includes sensors for detecting operating state values (inside and outside the vehicle) representing an operating state and influencing the climate in the transportation means as well as having actuators such as fans or an air slat drive. Furthermore, memory means are provided, supplying a plurality of automatic characteristic lines for different operating states which represent the fixedly preselected dependent relationships between the operating state values detected and the respective manipulated variables for actuators of the air conditioning system duration operation. Finally, adjusting means are also provided for performing manual adjustment procedures, e.g., adjusting the fan speed or adjusting the direction of flow and the amount of air blown into the interior of the vehicle. According to the present invention, the air conditioning system also includes means for detecting a manual adjustment operation during operation of the air conditioning system, means for selecting an automatic characteristic line to be corrected for a certain operating state, means for determining the deviation in manipulated variable between the manipulated variable set on the basis of the manual adjustment process and the manipulated variable for automatic operation assigned to the operating state values prevailing at this point in time, means for determining a learning value by weighting the manipulated variable deviation thus determined with a weighting factor of less than one and means for weighting the learning value over a range of several interpolation points of the automatic characteristic line and means for adjusting the automatic characteristic line as a function of the learning value thus determined. All the means listed above can be implemented in the air conditioning control unit.